Staff’s 2022 top stories reflect tragedy, heartbreak

    Most of the news events chosen as the top stories covered by The Imperial Republican in 2022 represent tragedy, heartbreak and loss.
    Each year, the staff selects their choices as top news stories from a list compiled by the news department and 2022 marked a year as one many would like to forget.
    But, there were some positive stories, too.
    After the staff voting , the No. 1 story chosen was the conviction of Kevin German, who was found guilty of 2nd degree murder and kidnapping in the November 2019 death of Annika Swanson.
    Swanson of Imperial was found days later after being forced into a water runoff tube south of Imperial, where she was found deceased.
    German’s guilty verdict also included false imprisonment of Eve Ambrosek.
    A two-and-a-half week jury trial ended when the verdict came down late in the morning Aug. 3.
    German continues to be held in the Lincoln County Jail in North Platte. His sentencing was originally set for Nov. 18, then moved to Jan. 26.
    A December motion from German’s attorney to move it later once again was approved by Judge Patrick Heng, and is now set for Feb. 10 at 3 p.m.
    Thanksgiving night was a tragic one in 2022, when Imperial’s 19-year-old Jesse Krausnick died at Chase County Community Hospital after being found with a gunshot wound at a residence on West 12th Street.
    Krausnick’s death was ranked the year’s No. 2 story.
    The freshman at UNL was found injured in the home at 126 West 12th Street with a group of young adults.
    Arrested at the scene for manslaughter and other charges was Tristan Ferguson, also 19 of Imperial, who posted 10% of his $100,000 bond the next day, Nov. 24.
    As of early January, Ferguson’s first appearance in Chase County Court had not been scheduled as the State Patrol continued to investigate.
    The No. 3 story of the year was the Chase County Schools bus accident Sept. 27 on Spur 15A Highway, about 4 miles southwest of Imperial.
    Twelve CCS students were being bussed home after classes when the bus was hit on its side by an oncoming semi-trailer as bus driver Keith Cranwell was turning left off the highway into a residence. Most students were treated and released at the hospital, but three were air-lifted to other medical facilities. Cranwell was cited for failure to yield the right-of-way and careless driving. A pretrial hearing was scheduled Jan. 11.
    Here’s a recap of the other top 10 stories:
No. 4 Char Wallin,
Mike Sorensen deaths
    A day apart in early August, two well-known people passed away.  Char Wallin, 45, of Imperial was killed in a car/pedestrian accident in Tuskaloosa, Alabama where the family had taken their oldest daughter/sister to college. Former CCS principal Mike Sorensen, 54, died at his home in Wauneta where he had just started an administrative position at Wauneta-Palisade Schools.
No. 5 Drought year, fires
    2022 will be remembered in Chase County as another drought year which helped spawn numerous grass fires in this area and across Nebraska and cut crop yields. While the immediate area didn’t experience major grass fire losses, IVFD and Wauneta sent firefighters to several big grass fires across Nebraska.
No. 6 Keonna Carter
sentenced
    Keonna Carter was sentenced in November, and received 40-50 years for 1st degree assault in the death of Annika Swanson. She also received 30-36 months for kidnapping. Judge Patrick Heng presided at the sentencing. Carter has since filed an appeal on the sentencing.
No. 7 State track title
    Another Class C state championship track title was won by the Chase County girls in May; it was the third win in four years for the Longhorns and the 2022 championship came at its biggest margin of those years.
No. 8 Gas prices
    Who didn’t comment on gas prices the past year? After prices began to increase in 2021, the pain at the pump continued during 2022, but sometimes dropping slightly before beginning a consistent downturn the last two months of the year. Prices in Imperial as 2022 ended were just over $3 for unleaded and about $4.50 for diesel.
No. 9 Medical staff
    Two new physicians joined the hospital/clinic staff early in 2022—Drs. Kayla Luhrs and James Kerr. However, the facilities also lost the services of Nurse Practitioner Brandy Hanes and Physician’s Asst. Nicole Havel later in the year. A new PA will join the medical staff in February after licensing is completed.
No. 10 Election year
    Imperial elected a new mayor and two new council members, while CCS and WP boards of education incumbents all were re-elected in November, fending off several challengers. There was also a big changeover on the county level, with offices filled by five new elected officials. Nebraska elected a new Republican Governor in Jim Pillen, who visited Imperial late in the campaign.